Breaking hearts and Painful decisions 2009 Edit
by Darkie-Hime
Summary: This is the same as the old Breaking hearts story, but this is the new and improved. Less errors and a bit more substance I guess. All in all it's the 2009 eddition of the old story. I hope you'll enjoy it.
1. New beginnings and old visions

Author's note:

Hey ya'll. I felt like this story needed a little brushing up.

Wow... I wrote this thing ages ago, not surprising really that there are spelling errors and such... I'm a bit amazed at how many revives the first draft got. XD Let's see if this one can get even more eh? lol

But it's better now. I promise... I think so anyway...

I hope you'll enjoy reading this, because I had a lot of fun writing it.

*Huggles all her readers*

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DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

Anyway Just enjoy the fic and tell me what you think.

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~~~**~~~ 1. New beginnings and old visions ~~~**~~~

Hitomi was sitting on her bed staring through the open window at the star filled sky outside. It had been two years since she came back from Gaia and everything was somewhat back to normal. Yukari and Amano was a couple now and she was happy for them. But she couldn't help but feel out of place around them. She felt like the third wheel all the time. They really did try to do things with her but it always ended with Hitomi going home after giving some rather lame excuse. And it was things like that that made her missed Van and the others even more.

"Van..." The name spilled past her lips with a sigh and let her thoughts wander to the past. She was a bit startled when the phone rang, tearing her eyes from the dark sky to look at the phone, the sound having stirred her from her thoughts with a jolt.

"I'll get it!" She called to her mother and picked up the noisy device and pressed the answer button.

"Kanzaki residence."

_'Hey Hitomi!' _

"Hi Yukari. What's up?" She asked as she sat down at her desk and waited for Yukari to continue.

_'I was just wondering if you would like to do something tonight. Girls only.'_ Yukari sounded cheerful like most of the time, causing a smile to spread over Hitomi's lips as she cradled the phone to her ear as she turned her eyes to look through her window once more.

"Sure why not. Where's Amano at then?" Yukari let out an _'hmph'_ before she said, with irritation clearly noticeable in her voice, _'He said that he had some important stuff to take care off. So I thought we could do something. It was a while since it was only us girls, ne?'_ Yukari's voice changed from irritation to exaltation as she spoke.

Hitomi couldn't help but let out a soft sigh and let her smile drop a little, she was, and would probably always be second choice as long as Amano and Yukari were together. But with a shrug of her shoulders she forced cheerfulness back into her voice before she spoke again.

"Yeah, that's true. So where are we going?"

_'I was thinking of that new club down town. It's supposed to be really fun around there__....' _

**

Hitomi agreed to meet her Yukari an hour later outside the other girl's house to drop of her own stuff because they planned for Hitomi to spend the night after they were done with their 'clubbing'.

Hitomi got up from her seat at her desk and walked over to the closet digging out a sport bag and chucked it onto the bed.

_*I guess it'll be nice to do something with Yukari... even tough I'm the substitute when Amano is away...*_ She sighed and dug out some extra clothes and threw them haphazardly onto the bed, not really caring where they laded at that moment. A dark blue short slewed shirt, a pair of well worn Jeans and a pair of sneakers, it should be enough. Then she got up and walked to the dresser and got the other necessary stuff from there.

"I hope it'll be fun tonight..." She said musingly as she brushed her now long bangs away from her green eyes. She had let her them grown quite a bit and her bangs now framed her face and reached to about her chin. But it was still sorter at the at the back of her neck. She had never liked it when she got all sweaty in the back of her neck while training, it was annoying and uncomfortable. That's why she had had short hair to begin with.

She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear before she picked up the rest of the things she would need for the night before walking over to the bed once more and started to stuff the things into the bag laying artlessly on the bed. She packed the bag swiftly, and a bit uncaringly, before she walked back to the closet to find something to wear for the evening. She settled for a pair of black jeans and a dark green top with some random text on it. She examined herself in the mirror and smiled a little while she brushed bangs from her eyes once more.

"That'll have to do..." She took out a pair of high-heeled sandals and walked downstairs to say goodbye to her parents, even hugging them before she walked out the door. She just felt she had to.

When she was walking towards Yukari's house she felt something stir in the air, like a freezing gush of air. Hitomi shivered and pulled her jacket closer around her and continued on her way, hurrying up her pace, but a second later she was consumed by a pillar of light, and was pulled upwards. She felt herself being carried away, and her feet were no longer touching the ground. She felt an immense sense of panic well up inside of her at first, but then, after a few moments it felt like she was going somewhere she belonged. So she relaxed and closed her eyes and let the light carry her away.

It was just for a moment, and then she was on solid ground again. She kept her eyes closed longer then was necessary but she was almost afraid to open them, to acknowledge where she was.

_*Com on Hitomi. There's nothing to be afraid of.*_ She told herself sternly and the opened one eye and looked around. It was dark, and she was defiantly outside... somewhere. She turned her green eyes up at the sky and saw a moon and the earth. And a smile full of joy, spread over her lips, she could barley believe it, she was back. She never thought she would come back to Gaia.

She looked to her left and found Escaflowne kneeling there, looking unused but still had a presence of almost being alive. She knew where she was, and where she was going. She walked at a steady pace towards the castle and could feel her pulse beat a little faster a happy smile still on her face and her eyes twinkling with happiness of being back.

There weren't many people out on the streets of New Fanelia. It looked much the same as it did before it was burned to the ground, it had come a long way in two years, and the smells of the city gave it a feeling of being alive and well.

When she reached the castle there were a myriad of sounds buzzing in the air accompanied by soft music, and all coming from within the castle. She walked, a bit cautiously, towards the commotion and was surprised that there were so few guards around. But she shrugged it of and continued on her way, it made it a whole lot easier to get where she wanted to go, without answering a million questions.

She got to the main hall and the sight that greeted her took her breath away. It was beautiful. Everyone was dancing and talking, the hall was lavishly decorated and everyone seemed to be very happy about something, it was obvious that something was being celebrated.

She ducked into the shadows to take the whole scenery in and try to calm her racing heart a little. It was about then she spotted Van, and her heart gave a bit of a leap. He looked so handsome, he had grown quite a bit, he was taller and had a more regal look about him, but he was still skinny. Hitomi smiled and bit her bottom lip as she looked at the prince and she drew a breath and let her voice spill past her lips.

"Van..." It was just a whisper but she could see Van stop and look around. Hitomi was gripping the strap of her bag with both hands with such force that her knuckles turned white. And after one sharp intake of breath she called out to him, with all the pent up longing and feelings she for him.

"Van!" Van froze in his tracks and turned towards the voice, thinking that is must be his imagination.

"Hitomi?" Van asked out loud. The people around him turned to look at the strange girl who had just shouted the prince's name in such a way.

Hitomi however didn't care that everyone was staring at her instead she called his name again and dropped her bag before she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. The people in the room gasped and started to whisper to each other. Van kind of blanked for a few seconds, shocked, but then returned the embrace.

"Hitomi?" It was only a whisper, but his voice caused all kinds of feelings to well up in her and she could feel tears of joy gathering in her eyes and threatened to spill.

"What are you doing here Hitomi? How did you get here?" Hitomi just looked up at Van and smiled and then shook her head.

"I don't know Van... I was just walking in the streets on my way to a party... and when I opened my eyes again I found myself here." She said with a bit of a shaky laugh, and then smiled at the young king.

Van looked a little confused and then hugged Hitomi again before letting go. Once her arms were no longer around his neck Hitomi scrubbed a little at her tear filled eyes with a bit of a snort like laugh. There was no reason for her to cry.

"Hitomi?" Someone asked and the mentioned girl turned around and smiled brightly at the blond Knight whom walked towards her.

"Allen-san!" She exclaimed with a bright smile on her lips and threw her arms around the Knight in a friendly hug. Once she let him go though she became very aware of that fact that everyone was staring at her. She could feel a blush burn at her cheeks and she couldn't help but feel out of place.

"It's very nice to have you here Hitomi... but I think we'd better talk somewhere less crowded. Van just has to settle everything here and then he'll join us in a little while, right Van?" Allen said and turned from looking at Hitomi to Van to have the prince agree to what he had just said. Van simply nodded and with that Allen led Hitomi out of the main hall, grabbing her discarded bag on the way.

When they were out in the hallway Allen turned his eyes to look down at the girl form the Mystic Moon. She had grown in more ways then one and was looking even more beautiful then when he had seen her last. Allen knew beauty when he saw it, and Hitomi was one of a kind when it came to that.

Hitomi turned her head when she felt Allen's eyes on her and looked up at him.

"Allen-san, what was everyone celebrating? It was a really big party in there." The look on Allen's face changed from smiling warmly at her, to an almost pained expression and Hitomi started to wonder what could be the cause of such a drastic change.

"It's Van's place to tell you not mine..." The way Allen's voice sounded and the expression on his face told her that she wasn't going to like whatever it was that they were celebrating, and it left her with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She turned her eyes away from the blond knight and chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip for a few moments as silence settled between them.

A few minutes later they were in a library of some sort, she was sure that the palace had more then one, but that thought was very fleeting. Hitomi looked out at the night sky through one of the big windows with the moons gentle light shining softly on her face and hair. Her green eyes were gleaming in the soft light, partly from unshed tears and partly from happiness for being back. It felt so much better to be on Gaia then on Earth for some reason.

Allen gazed at her while he leaned against the opposite wall. He knew that Hitomi was going to get hurt by what Van was going to tell her and it caused a concerned frown to crease his brow. Suddenly Hitomi turned around and looked at Allen with a somewhat sad smile on her face.

"You look nice Allen-san... really dressed up and proper, not that you were un-proper before." She said honestly and the frown quickly disappeared from Allen's features and was instead replaced with a warm smile. He was just about to compliment her but never got the chance to because at that moment the door to the library swung open.

Van entered the room, looking somewhat weary and it caused Hitomi to look nervously towards the king of Fanelia.

"Van... I really hope that I didn't cause any trouble for you back there..." She said her voice apologetic. She still looked a bit nervous and so did Van for some reason. And it wasn't until that moment she noticed that Van was also very well dressed, more so then she had ever seen him before. Hitomi couldn't help the amazed smile that graced her lips as she started to walk towards Van. She took a breath and was about to comment on his well dressed appearance but before the words could pass her lips she felt suddenly dizzy. It was the same kind of feeling she used to get just before she got a vision. She raised a hand to her forehead and before she knew it her vision grew dark and there was nothing she could do to stop herself from falling forward as unconsciousness claimed her.

Allen just barely caught her before she hit the floor and with surprised and worried look marring his features he gently placed a hand on the unconscious girl's face and gently moved her so that he could look at her. And there was a bit of panic noticeable in his voice once he spoke her name.

"Hitomi...?"

~~~**~~~

Notes:

I hope this is better.

I defiantly like this version better then the last one, there might still be some errors, but I hope they aren't terribly annoying. XD

R&R if you haven't already, or do it again if you feel like commenting on the additions and editing I've done.

Darkie Hime


	2. Awakenings

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

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~~~**~~~ 2. Awakenings ~~~**~~~

Hitomi found herself standing in a garden of some sort with the bright sun shining down at her from a clear blue sky. She let her gaze wander over her surroundings and soon her eyes came to rest on Van just a few yards away, and at his side was a very pretty girl. They looked content and were walking around talking silently to one another. The girl was a little taller then herself and the girl had red wavy hair she had a gracefulness about her that just couldn't be overseen. And she had the most piercing green eyes she had ever seen. The girl was out right beautiful, no question about it.

The scene that came to pass before her next though caused her heart to break. She watched stunned as Van leaned down and captured the red haired girl's lips in a soft and loving kiss, and when they broke apart, the girl's cheeks were tinted pink, but had a happy smile on her lips, a smile that Van returned with one of his own.

Then the scenery changed around Hitomi. The next saw around her was a crowd of cheering people. She looked up, towards were all the others were looking, and saw the girl and Van standing on a balcony, Van had his arm around her waist smiling.

Hitomi could hear the people around her talking and the words that reached her were those of admiration and hope and jealous, but all in all happy sentiments.

_"It was about time Van-sama found someone..." _

_"She's so pretty! And so lucky! I wish I was a princess too..." _

_"This is going to tie the two Kingdome's together..." _

The settings around her suddenly changed again. The stony ground beneath her feet suddenly gave away. She fell like she had done in her other visions but this time there was no angel to catch her, to help her up again. She screamed as she fell backwards into darkness. She called out to Van. But there was no one there...

~~~**~~~

Hitomi woke up with a start and a gasp and franticly looking around trying to orientate herself her head was buzzing and there was a lingering feeling of loss inside of her. The next thing she became aware of was Allen's worried looking face gazing down at her.

"Allen-san..." She whispered and closed her eyes for a moment, she almost felt like crying again, but this time for a whole other reason then the one earlier.

Allen helped Hitomi to her feet but the dizziness lingered and she had to hold on to a chair to keep her balance. After a few moments she turned so that she could look at Van, who looked worried and concerned. She forced a small reassuring smile at him, and it almost felt believable. But it fell a little as she opened her mouth to ask, to make sure...

"What's her name Van? The pretty girl in the garden... the one with red hair?" She questioned getting a surprised look from Van before he averted his eyes from her, looking almost guilty.

"...Princess Lana Icaron..." He said, scratching the back of his neck and avoided looking at Hitomi.

Hitomi gave a small nod then straightened up and let out a small sigh, before she smiled a bit sadly at Van. "That's a pretty name..." She said. "It suits her."

The door creaked open behind them, and the mentioned princess entered the room a bit tentatively, a concerned look on her smooth and delicate features. Hitomi saw Allen frown slightly, out of the corner of her eye, but it passed as quickly as it appeared, and it almost made her question if it had been there to begin with.

"Van-sama, what are you doing in here? There are people... Oh hello, I don't think we have met." The princess said as her bright green eyes came to rest on Hitomi and a pleasant smile settled over her red painted lips.

Hitomi looked at the Princess for a moment then caught herself and gave a slight bow. Van suddenly looked really uncomfortable and looked between the two girls for a moment. Hitomi was quite sure that if he had had his sword at his side he would probably have had his hand on the hilt. He looked like he was in the midst of a battlefield...

Allen was the one who broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the room. "Princess Lana, this is Hitomi Kanzaki, the girl from the Mystic Moon." The Knight said with a pleasant smile on his lips as he motioned to Hitomi. The green eyed princess blinked a few times like she didn't believe it and then stared at Hitomi for a few seconds. Then she walked over to Hitomi and took her right hand in both of hers and a bright smile blossomed over her delicate features.

"It's an honour to met you Hitomi. I've heard so much about you, most of it from Van-sama."

Hitomi blushed a little and looked over at Van who just gave her a tiny smile, then she turned her eyes back to Lana and gave the flashed the princess a small embarrassed smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Princess Lana."

Lana returned the smile and gave Hitomis hand a small squeezed before she let it go and walked over to Van to hook her arm with his before she looked back at Hitomi.

Lana nodded and walked over to Van and hocked her arm with his, looking back at Hiromi as she started to lead the king towards the door.

"I'm sorry that I have to have to take Van-sama away like this, but we have an engagement party to attend. We'll make sure that someone shows you to one of the guest quarters though, and then we can all talk in the morning." The princess said brightly. Van visibly flinched and looked even guiltier then before and avoided looking into Hitomi eyes.

Hitomi just felt numb, like she was listening to a TV that was in the other room. She barely noted the goodbyes from the princess and Van. Her gaze came to rest on her hands, which were gripping the chair so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She didn't notice when Allen walked over to her, nor did she take notice of his hand which came to rest on her shoulder.

"Hitomi are you alright?" He asked his smooth voice full of concern. She didn't answer him, nor did she even turn to look at him. He gently turned her so that she was facing him and placed a hand on her chin and made her look up at him. It was unwavering to look into her eyes, because they weren't looking at Allen. It was like she was a million miles away. A worried frown came to crease his brow once more and he placed his hand onto her shoulder. She turned her face downwards again and stared at his chest but not really. He gave her a light shake and spoke her name.

"Hitomi? Hitomi answer me." The girl in front of him drew a sharp breath then looked up at him, a lost look in her eyes.

"What?" She asked, completely unaware of what had transpired in the last couple of minutes. Allen let out a soft sigh and smiled softly at her. "I think we should get you to your room and let you rest. You seem a bit out of it." He said before he picked up her bag once more before he offered her his arm, which she took, with a somewhat dazed look on her features, but didn't say anything. She only gave a small nod, and with that they walked out of the library.

They walked through the empty corridors in silence; it wasn't until they were almost at the guest quarters that Hitomi spoke up. "...Allen-san..." She said her voice thin and frail sounding. The Knight turned his head too look down on her.

"Yes Hitomi?"

"...How, and when, did Van meet Lana?"

Allen raised an eyebrow at the question then looked away from her and let his gaze linger on some point far ahead of them down the corridor, a small frown spreading over his features.

"It was quite a while ago... I don't think Van really liked her at first. He didn't have that much time in the beginning to actually take notice to her. He was trying to rebuild Fanelia and bind the kingdoms together by a peace-treaty. Most of them agreed but there were a few that didn't think it was a good idea. Princess Lana's country was one of them."

Hitomi listened in silence as Allan spoke, her eyes on the floor as they walked at a slow pace down the corridor. After a short pause Allen started speaking again after a quick glance at Hitomi.

"Princess Lana's father wasn't the most easygoing of men. He highly objected to the idea of every country as one, it was then Princess Lana came into the picture. In the beginning I think she was brought into the picture to change Van's mind, but it worked the other way around. Van still didn't like her though."

Hitomi shook her head and Allen raised an questioning eyebrow at her. "No Allen-san... Van liked her from the beginning. He just wasn't mature enough to admit to himself..." She had a distant look in her eyes but after closing her eyes for a few moments it was gone.

"Van isn't hurting anymore, and he's not alone. I'm truly happy for him..." She couldn't stop the tear that escaped her eye but she brushed it away before it could roll down her cheek.

Allen tilted his head slightly and looked at her a concerned look in his eyes one more.

"Then why are you crying Hitomi?" He questioned softly.

She sniffled a little and shook her head, brushing away another tear.

"It's nothing. I guess I just wasn't prepared for it... I thought that perhaps it was Van who had found a way to bring me back here again... because he wanted to be with me again..." She trailed of and squeezed her eyes shut, shaking as she tried her best to hold back the tears.

Allen dropped Hitomi's bag and gathered the trembling girl into his arms giving her a comforting hug. Hitomi was grateful for the gesture but felt a bit awkward as well but sp she buried her face in the fabric of his shirt that covered his chest and gripping onto his shirt with both her hands letting out small sobs.

"It's going to be alright Hitomi." Allen's voice was soft and reassuring as he held her close. They stayed like that until Hitomi's breathing started to go back to normal as she slowly started to get a grip on her emotions again.

"There's probably a reason why you are here, and we'll figure it all out in the morning." Allen said in a soft voice and looked down at the girl who started to move away from him, rubbing at her eyes with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. She however gave a small nod at his words and Allen let his arms drop slowly from around her and the green eyed girl took a step back. She took a deep breath before she looked up at him, her eyes still shiny with tears but she looked like she was in control again.

"Thank you Allen-san." She said and smiled at him before she reached down to retrieve her bag from the floor to then sling in over her shoulder. A comfortable silence settled between them as they walked side by side down the corridor. And it wasn't to long before they met one of the pageboys. The boy's face brightened in relief at the sight of them.

"Hitomi Kanzaki I presume, I've been looking for you. I was sent to lead you to your quarters, please follow me." They boy said as he bowed at them. Hitomi gave a small nod at the young man and followed.

Faint music and laughter could be heard from the main hall. She hadn't really noticed until then, but the sounds that had made her think of how alive the castle felt, now made her feel rather empty inside. She was starting to wonder what she was doing on Gaia again. She got lost in her own thoughts and didn't take much notice of her surroundings until she was drawn out of her thoughts by Allen when he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We're here Hitomi."

"Hmm... oh right, my room." Hitomi said walked inside once the pageboy had opened the door for her, and Allen followed her inside, just to make sure that she would be all right.

The green eyed girl walked over to the bed and dropped her bag onto it then made her way over to the balcony wrapping her arms around herself as she looked up at the earth high up in the sky.

"Hitomi?" Allen followed her across the room and soon came to stand besides her on the balcony and looked at her as she stared up at the sky.

"It's weird... I was doing this just an hour ago... but then I was in my room thinking about Van and Gaia..." She said musingly before she let out a small sigh and shifter her eyes to look down at the railing. "Why am I here?" The question wasn't directed at Allen, she was just thinking out loud. The blond Knight looked at her with a contemplating look in his azure blue eyes for a few long moments he then turned his gaze towards the Mystic Moon. A few moments later he spoke, his voice as musing as hers had been just a minute or so earlier.

"Maybe someone wished you to come here. Or it's destiny who wants you back." He turned to look at her, a small smile on his lips. "Either way I'm glad that you're here again."

Hitomi felt a faint blush creep across the bridge of her nose at his words. And when Allen saw it he couldn't help but smile fondly at her.

"Well I better leave you to your rest. Sleep well Hitomi, I'll see you in the morning." Allen bowed to Hitomi and turned around to walk away.

"Allen!" Hitomi blushed even more when she realized that she had said his name louder then was necessary and turned her eyes towards the floor in embarrassment. The feeling his now questioning eyes on her didn't help either, it only made her blush harder.

"Yes?" He said, a curious smile on his lips. Hitomi never noticed it though because her eyes were fixed on the rug on the floor.

"I... um... I mean... thank you Allen-san." She said and raised her eyes to look at him and saw the warm smile that settled there, and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

"No need to thank me Hitomi, you sleep well now."

"You too." She said and watched him as he left her room. She turned to look up at the Mystic Moon once more and smiled sadly at it.

"I guess I won't be able to meet you on time Yukari..."

~~**~~

In another part of the castle Van was staring up at the same Mystic Moon in much the same way as Hitomi, his mind filled with a buzzing with questions.

"Hitomi..." It was just a whisper of her name but it carried so many questions hidden questions. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned slightly and came to look down at his fiancé who was smiling brightly at him.

"Are you ok Van-sama? You seem a little distant."

A small sigh escaped him before he forced a small smile onto his lips before he spoke.

"I'm fine Lana... I'm fine."

~~**~~

Ok. That's chapter two edited. I hope it agrees with you. I agree with it. XD

If you've read this far, why not jot down your thoughts about it for me in a Review?

Take care.

Darkie Hime


	3. Garden visions

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

Alright, here's the 3rd chapter. Enjoy.

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~~~**~~~ 3. Garden visions ~~~**~~~

Dawn was approaching when Van was finally able to make his way towards his room. It had been a long night, and with Hitomi's sudden appearance, it had stirred up a lot of questions that needed to be answered. He had a lot of them himself, but he had no answers for them...

But the thing that seemed to bothered him the most was that Lana just brushed it all off like it didn't trouble her in the least. It also bothered him that he hadn't felt anything but surprise when Hitomi had showed up.

Van reached for the pendant that was safely tucked underneath his shirt. He took it out and held it in his hand and looked at it like it would be able to answer all his questions and erase his doubts. He stopped walking and leaned his back against a nearby wall sliding down it until he was sitting on the cool floor, not letting his eyes of the pendant as he did so.

_*Why now? Why now of all times?*_ He let out a frustrated sigh and let the pendant go letting it fall back to rest against his chest. He drew his legs up so that he could rest his aching head against his knees.

"What am I supposed to do?"

The question was barely audible so if anyone was nearby they would have just heard it as a mumble, but there was no one nearby, so no one noticed when the young king dosed of where he sat on the floor.

~~**~~

There were two images in front of him, one of Hitomi and the other one of Princess Lana. They were both facing away from him at the moment. Then they turned, moving in the exact same way like they were the mirror image of the other. Then they reached out their hands towards him, speaking his name.

The only thing that wasn't the same about them was the expression on their faces. Lana looked genuinely happy, while Hitomi had a sad and kind of pained look on her face.

He didn't know witch one to reach out to so he just stood there, his arms at his sides and his hands clenched into fists. He had to make a choice.

Suddenly the pendant started to glow, it was such a blinding bright light he almost couldn't look down at it, but he did, and a look of confusion was painted across his face. Then the chain floated up over his head to come to hang in front of him in midair. It started to swing right then left, like it was trying to decide witch girl he should to choose.

Then it chattered right in between the two images with an ear deafening sound that seemed to vibrate through his whole being.

~~**~~

Van sat up with a jolt, his breathing coming out in short puffs. He stared at the floor in front of him and placed a trembling hand against his forehead for a moment before he hook his head lightly, his eye's wide in disbelief.

"What was that?" He took the pendant in one of his hands, just to make sure it was still whole. His face was set in confusion as he got up of the floor.

_*It must have been a dream. My mind is just cluttered with __questions.... It's understandable.. to have odd dreams....* _The young king thought as he started to slowly walk towards his room once more. By the light outside he hadn't dozed for long. Once he got to his room he just stood in front of the door for several minutes, lost in thought, but when he heard the distant footfalls heading his way he finally opened the door and headed inside, his mind now buzzing with several more questions then earlier.

~~**~~

Hitomi didn't sleep well during the night, she was afraid that she would have more visions if she fell asleep so she kept tossing and turning and just dozed a few minutes here and there.

When the light of the morning sun drifted trough her window she stirred and groggily opened her eyes just to shut them tightly against the invasive brightness and draping an arm over them to farther keep the light from invading her morning sensitive optic nerves.

After a while there was a knock on her door making her sit up and brushed her hair away from her face letting out a tired sigh and was forced to squint her eyes open, and attempted to quickly adjust her eyes to the bright room. It was a bit difficult though.

"Coming." She called to whoever it was on the other side of the door and got out of the bed and dug out her jeans from her bag and quickly slipped them on. She then straightened out the shirt that she had slept in before made her way over to the door and opened it.

"...Princess Lana?" Hitomi said, surprise clearly evident in her voice. The red haired Princess, clad in a ocean green sundress, was smiling brightly at the surprised girl.

"Good morning Hitomi. I just wanted to ask you if you would like to join me for breakfast." Hitomi was a bit taken aback by the cheeriness in Lana radiated, and a bit confused at the invitation, but nodded slowly.

"Sure, just let me get dressed and stuch..." She said a bit hesitantly. She wasn't sure she wanted to spend the morning with Van's fiancé.

The princess, however just smiled brightly at her. "Of course take your time, I'll wait."

Hitomi smiled back before she closed the door to go and freshen up and get dressed more properly.

When she was done she took a quick look in a mirror and frowned slightly at her sleep mushed hair but just combed her fingers trough it a few times so that it settled somewhat then went to meet Lana.

The princess in question was leaning against a wall but quickly straightened up when Hitomi emerged from the room.

"Well I'm ready to go now." Hitomi closed the door behind her before she looked over at the princess, there was something odd about her but she couldn't put her finger on what.

"Well then, we should get going to the garden, it's so wonderful this time of day." Lana said with a soft smile as she led the way. And after that silence fell between them, and for Hitomi it was an awfully uncomfortable silence.

Hitomi looked around for Van or Allen but didn't see either of them as they walked through the castle. She let out a small sigh and then felt the princess eyes on her. She glanced over at the princess who gave her a concerned look.

"Are you alright Hitomi?"

Hitomi felt a little taken aback by the concerned in her voice, but she quickly shrugged it of before she gave the princess a reassuring smile and waved a hand to dismiss the matter.

"I'm fine Princess Lana. Just a little tired."

"I didn't wake you up to early did I?" Hitomi looked at her wristwatch and it was past 9. Not disturbingly early but she had already been more or less awake because of the sun anyway.

"No, it's all right. Don't worry about it."

They arrived at the garden a little while later and sat down at a table that had been set up for them. Hitomi wasn't that hungry but didn't want to offend the princess so she took some tea and sipped it slowly.

"Sugar?" The princess suddenly asked as she motioned to the tray. Hitomi looked over at Lana and shook her head.

"No thanks, this is just fine." She thought she saw something resembling irritation flash over the princess face but she ignored it. It wasn't impolite to decline sugar...

On one of the balconies Allen was keeping an eye on the two girls eating breakfast down in the garden with a slight frown on his face as he did so.

~~~**~~~

That's it for the third chapter, I know it's a little shorter... but I hope ya enjoyed it anyway.

Darkie Hime


	4. Heartache and distant memories

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

Some people will probably not like this chapter... oh well. Enjoy!

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~~~**~~~ 4. Heartache and distant memories ~~~**~~~

_*I don't trust that girl...*_ Allen though to himself as he looked down at the girls sitting in the garden, he azure blue eyes almost glaring at the delicate looking princess. It didn't seem right Van having a change of heart in the blink of an eye about that girl, even if Hitomi thought otherwise.

Allen was debating if he should go down and join the girls but his train of thought was interrupted by someone walking out onto the balcony and came to stand besides him.

"Are you spying on the women now Allen?" The voice was full of friendly teasing and Allen quickly rid the frown from his face and let a small half-smile appear on his lips instead.

"Anything new Gaddes?" The mentioned man took on a serious expression and looked down at the girls himself.

"There's not a single bad rumour about Princess Lana. She's the good little princess who does what she has to for her country. Her mother died when she was young and her father passed away last year out of illness."

Allen let the smile disappear and was replaced by a serious and thoughtful look as he turned his gaze once more towards the garden.

_*There's still something about her... And now that Hitomi is here... there has to be something__ wrong with all this.* _

~~**~~

Lana was chatting away about nothing and everything trying to keep the uncomfortable silence at bay which was threatening to fall upon them if she stopped talking.

"...and when I got here Van was so nice, a little distant but nice. And last night was so wonderful, it couldn't have been better, well you bursting in there was a little odd but I'm sure Van is happy to see you. Now you can come to the wedding too! I'm sure Van would like that!"

Hitomi was shocked by the last part of Lana's rambling, and opened and closed her mouth a couple of times as she tried desperately to think of something to say in return.

"I...I'm not sure if that's a good idea..." She eventually managed to say but Lana just waved her hand as if to brush the mater away with the gesture with a small pout.

"Nonsense, of course you should be there. You've helped him out such a lot, you just have to come." She said in that bright and cherry tone again and smiled.

Hitomi reseed her hands in her lap and just looked at them trying to avoid the princess piercing eyes, she could think of nothing to say.

The princess expression changed and her voice took on a more serious tone, and there was the softest chink when Lana placed her teacup down on its saucer before she spoke.

"Hitomi... Why did you come here? Did you really think that Van would wait for you forever?"

Hitomi drew a sharp breath at the sudden serious question that the princess asked her, but she didn't look at the princess but kept on looking at her fisted hands that were now trembling in her lap.

"...I..." Her voice was a bit shaky so she closed her mouth and took a few deep breaths. Lana just kept on looking at her with an intense gaze waiting for the girl to answer.

_*Of course he couldn't wait for me... I didn't even know if I would ever return here. But why am I here then? Did I want to see Van __that badly... just to find him... not wanting me anymore?* _

Hitomi stood so suddenly that Lana jumped a little in her seat and stared wide eyed at the other girl for a moment.

"I wanted Van to wait for me... but I know that it's a very selfish thing to wish for... I just hope..." She had to cut herself of to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill before she could continue.

"...I...just want him to be happy..." She turned and walked away and when she was sure that the princess couldn't see her any longer she ran. And there was nothing she could do the keep the tears from falling from her eyes.

Princess Lana felt a little bad about making the girl so upset. But she didn't want the weird girl to take her love away from her. She would never let such a thing happen.

The princess got up from her seat at the table and smoothened out the wrinkles on her dress then cast a glance up towards the balconies seeing the blond Knight up there shoot her a nasty glare, and she returned it with passion.

She didn't like Allan, and Allen didn't like her and that was just fine with Lana. She knew that everyone couldn't get along, but she even had problems with just being in the same room as the Knight, but she would never let it show, even if it irked her to no end.

She was the one who broke the glare and went inside to find Van. She wanted to talk with him about the wedding; there was something she wanted to discuss regarding the date...

~~**~~

Van was wandering aimlessly around the gardens, gazing at the pendant he was holding in his open hand as he walked.

It was so strange to have Hitomi appear so sudden, it didn't make sense. And that dream, what did it mean?

"...What am I supposed to do?" He held up the pendant in front of his face and let it swing from side to side and closed his eyes. But a moment later he was jolted back into reality when someone ran straight into him from behind, sending both of the tumbling to the ground.

"Oh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to... Van?"

Van turned around and sat up as the weight of the other person scrambled of and then recognized the voice as Hitomi's, but she sounded odd, she sounded upset.

"Hitomi? Are you all right?"

Hitomi bowed her head to hide her tear streaked face.

"I'm fine... Don't worry about me. I'm just in a hurry somewhere... I have to go." She got up and hurried away, brushing away the tears that refused to stop flowing.

"Hitomi!" Van got up and was about to follow her when he felt a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Let her be, she needs time to think."

Van looked to his side and found Allen standing there. The knight had a serious and thoughtful look on his face.

Allen had left the balcony when he saw Hitomi run of, he was thinking of following her but when he had seen the collision and heard her choked up voice he changed his mind.

Van just nodded in response to the Knight's words and clutched the pendant tighter in his hand. He felt so torn at the moment, he loved Lana he knew that but with Hitomi there he was getting confused.

"And Princess Lana is looking for you..."

Van looked at Allen again and frowned a little at the Knight's tone of voice.

"You don't have to say her name like you're saying the name of some nasty disease." The young king said disapprovingly. And with that Allen let his hand fall to his side then turned to walk away.

"Sorry Van, it won't happen again."

"Liar." Van let a small smile cross his face and the same thing happened to Allen. They had gone trough this routine before, he shrugged it of and followed Allen back into the castle.

~~**~~

Hitomi sank down besides Escaflowne, she had calmed down a little. The tears were just lingering trails now. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead against her them letting her eyes fall shut before she took a deep shuddering breath.

"I don't want to be here anymore... I don't want to feel like this, to feel deserted and know that I can't do a thing about it... How do I get myself into these stupid situations?!" She almost screamed and then felt drained and let out a long sigh.

She just sat there for a long while listening to the birds, enjoying the calmness of the area. it made her heart feel a bit at ease. She startled a little at her own thoughts and then put a finger to her lips.

"That's what Allen-san said..." She blushed slightly, then got up from the ground and looked up at the sky, it was getting dark already.

"How long have I been up here?" She mumbled to herself. She placed a hand on Escaflowne in a thoughtful manner but a second later she winched as she was drawn into yet another vision.

~~**~~

The rain was falling down like a heavy curtain and Hitomi could see herself on a small bridge.

Hitomi watched as the scene rolled on like a romantic movie, and when they kissed she felt her heart skip a beat. She realized how young she really was then, in both body and mind. She might have grown in both departments but now she felt like that girl from two years ago.

And then Van showed up her heart aced, he looked so pained and disappointed.

The scenery changed and she was at the place where Van had been coroneted. But now there was a wedding going on.

She looked as Van and Lana walked up to the priests and kneeled. Lana was dressed in a beautiful white gown with a mantel that was purple and blue striped, Hitomi guessed it was her countries colours, and Van was dressed in blue clothes. It looked a lot like Dryden's wedding clothes and yet not the same, but he didn't look happy.

She saw herself run towards them from behind, making her way through the mass of people. She was trying to get away from some guards and was trying desperately to get Van's attention. She was calling his name over and over but he didn't seem to hear her so she called out again.

But when she was just a few steps away from him the pendant, that should have been with Van was now around her neck, started to glow. Suddenly she was swallowed by the pillar of light and disappeared.

But neither Lana nor Van noticed and the wedding proceeded.

~~**~~

That's it for the fourth chapter. Hope ya enjoyed it. ^__^

Darkie Hime


	5. The king's decision

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

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~~~**~~~ 5. The king's decision ~~~**~~~

Hitomi screamed as she was almost shot out from within her mind, and stumbled backwards as she drew her hand away from Escaflowne like it had burned her hand. She looked up at Escaflowne and felt herself trembling hard from her vision.

"...No..." The word was so thin and quiet that she didn't even know if she said it. She turned around and started to walk back towards the castle, seeing the vision over and over again in her mind.

"I guess... it's meant to be then..." Now she just wanted to go back home, she didn't want to stay and see Van get married. But in her vision, she hadn't been taken away until the day Van and Lana got married. She shuddered at the thought. She wanted to go home...

~~**~~

"You want the marriage to be held the day after tomorrow?" Van's voice held a tone of disbelief, but Lana didn't seem to take to much notice to and and only smiled and nodded at him before she hooked her arm with his as they walked through the castle.

"Yes. Why push the whole thing in front of us? Most of the preparations are already done anyway." Then she let go of Van's arm and stopped dead in her tracks. Van tuned to look at her.

"Lana? Are you alright?" Lana looked away and had a sad look on her face.

"You... you haven't changed your mind about this marriage have you?" Her voice was quivering a little and she wrapped her arms around herself. Van just stared at her for a moment before he closed the distance between them with a small step, tugging the Princess into his arms hugging her. Lana rested her head on his shoulder returned the embrace.

"I... haven't changed my mind Lana. Don't worry." Lana just let out a small sigh and hugged Van tighter.

~~**~~

Allen was sitting in the Fanellian gardens, resting his back against one of the big tree trunks, gazing up at the sky. It was starting to get dark, and he hadn't seen Van since they bumped in to Princess Lana in the hallways of the castle.

Allen hadn't bothered to stay with them, there was no way that he would listen to the princess gush about wedding details, so he went to search for Hitomi instead, but hadn't found her anywhere in the castle or in the city. He felt truly sorry for Hitomi, he could understand her pain. He had been in a similar situation himself and that scenario had resulted in prince Chid.

He let out a small sigh and closed his eyes. There was no use in brooding over the past. It only made your heart ache.

"Allen-san?" He hadn't even noticed Hitomi entering the garden. He looked up at the girl who was only standing a few feet away. He couldn't see her eyes at the moment but he could see that she was shaking.

"Hitomi? Are you alright?" He was about to stand up but Hitomi motioned for him to stay. She moved closer and then she sat down besides him. Her eyes were still hidden in shadow but he already knew she'd been crying.

"Hitomi?" He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and she stiffened, like she'd forgotten that he was there. Then he saw a tear roll down her cheek and he gently put a hand on her face and turned her head so that she faced him. Her eyes were clouded with tears and confusion. Allen gently brushed her tears away and let his hand linger a little longer on her cheek then was needed.

Hitomi closed here eyes and let out a sigh and leaned into his gentle caress and a moment later she felt herself being gathered up in strong arms. Hitomi just curled up in Allen's lap letting herself be held. She was so starved for love and the gentleness that came with it so the feeling of Allen's arms around her was comforting, even if it wasn't love...

"Allen-san... I'm sorry... I don't know what to do... I... I really don't know what to do." She started to cry again, she was so confused, so torn.

Allen just held Hitomi close and let her cry, gently stroking her hair. "It will be alright Hitomi... don't worry, everything will work out in the end...you'll see..." He murmured softly to the distraught girl in his arms. She started to calm down, the tears stopped and her breathing evened out. The soft tone in Allen's voice made her feel at ease and eventually she drifted of to sleep feeling safe and cared for.

~~**~~

Lana was in her room looking at her wedding dress thinking that she would make a beautiful bride. She walked over to her window looking out over New Fanellia and the few people that were still outside.

"Such a nice country... a little to hot for my taste but I guess that I'll get used to it eventually... Ara...? Is that?" She looked down at the garden and a big smile spread over her lush lips.

"Well well... this suits me just fine, indeed it does..." She murmured to herself as she looked down at the two individuals in the garden below.

"What suits you fine?" The princess startled and then turned to look at Van who had entered her room without her noticing it.

"Oh... the wedding dress of course, isn't it lovely?" She walked over to Van and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What were you looking at?" Van asked as he walked towards the windows. Lana just smiled secretively.

"Oh nothing special, I just saw a really cute couple cuddling down there, too sweet really." She walked to stand besides Van at the window, noticing that he was frowning. She looked down and saw Allen carrying Hitomi inside. But he stopped for a moment and looked up at Van and Lana. He had somewhat sad look on his face, then shook his head slightly and headed inside.

Lana frowned a little herself and crossed her arms loosely over her chest as she watched the Knight walk inside.

"What was that all about? He looked like he was angry at you." She said and pursed her lips in though.

_*Or maybe you...*_ Van added mentally.

"You said you and Hitomi talked this morning, what did you say to her anyway?" Van asked, changing the subject somewhat. Lana looked like she was trying to remember, placing a hand on her cheek and looked out the window.

"Hmm... Well I told her a little about us and the engagement party. And that she absolutely should come to the wedding. I thought that would make you happy Van-sama." She let her hand drop to rest on her hip.

Van just looked out the window, thinking about their encounter in the garden, and how upset Hitomi had been. He felt Lana's arms snake around his waist as she gave him a hug from behind. He closed his eyes and saw the pendant shatter in his minds eye.

"Van-sama... I'm so happy. I can't wait until we are married." He turned around and faced the princess whom he was soon to marry. He gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes, and she smiled up at him, her eyes shining with happiness.

_*I can't risk this... I'm sorry Hitomi... I can't bear you leaving me again. It's better this way.* _

Van and Lana's faces were just inches from each other, and the princess and a small delicate blush stained her cheeks as he drew closer.

"Van-sama..." Her voice was only a whisper as she felt his breath brush against her lips before he closed the distance and kissed her. She in return grasped onto the back of his shirt as she felt herself be consumed by the kiss. She didn't see the tear that slid down Van's cheek.

_*I'm sorry... Hitomi...* _

The pendant gave away a soft pulsing glow under his shirt, like a person's slow and steady heartbeat...

~~**~~

Hitomi dreamt, dreamt of times long ago and of times that just had happened. Then she heard and felt a beat, she looked around but blackness surrounded her. It was like hearing your own heartbeat when you were scared, it felt like it was so loud that someone miles away could hear it.

She had to check her own pulse, and startled when she realized that it was her heartbeat she could hear.

"What's happening? Where am I? Allen-san? Van?" She turned around quickly when she noticed a pink pulsing light. A big version of the pendant were swinging back and forth in front of her and she could see the images of Van and Lana for a while when it passed.

"Van?"

_'Van-sama...' _

Hitomi looked away, even if the image of the couple didn't make her heart ache as bad as it did before.

Then the light intensified, but it was like lightning, it was gone before she knew it and now she was in her room, looking at herself sleeping with Allen sitting in a chair besides her bed seemingly asleep as well.

She felt herself smiling at the scene until she noticed something lurking in the shadows, looming over Allen. Hitomi felt herself panic, she felt uneasy like something really bad was about to happen.

"Allen-san, wake up! Wake up!" Her calls were in vain though, it was a vision. It hadn't happened yet, she hoped... The shadow snuck up behind Allen and in a swift motion cut the Knights throat, but not enough to kill him instantly.

Allen's eyes shot open and he instantly placed his hands over the wound on his throat and glanced behind him, seeing the shadow. But that was all he could do as blood seeped through the wound and his fingers. He reached out to the sleeping Hitomi but couldn't quite reach her. The knight slumped over the edge of the bed staining the sheets crimson as his life fluids left him.

Hitomi could just watch in horror as Allen bleed to death on her bed. She yelled with all her might for it to stop, she wanted to wake up. She wanted to change what she just saw.

"Allen-san!! No! I have to wake up! This can't be happening! ALLEN!!" She screamed his name with all her might, feeling like she was going to burst if she didn't do something. She needed to wake up!

~~**~~

Oooooh! The cliff hangers! The suspense! Am I really going to kill Allen? You just have to wait and see. ^_~

Darkie Hime


	6. Assassinations

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

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~~~**~~~ 6. Assassinations ~~~**~~~

Hitomi's eyes shot open and she was almost afraid to look around. She noticed that she was lying in the same bed as in her vision, in her room at the castle. She slowly turned her head and felt relief wash over her as she saw Allen sitting there, alive and breathing, and no trace of blood around. She smiled up at Allen for a moment before she realized what was going to happen; it was soon to occur... She barely noticed the person shrouded in shadows which was standing behind the Knight.

"Allen, watch out!" She flung herself out of bed and knocked the chair over to get him out of harms way. Allen woke up as soon as Hitomi had called his name, and was a bit surprised when he was knocked over. He heard someone gasp in pain, and felt a jab of dread run through him when he realized it was Hitomi whom had gasped. He turned his head and saw Hitomi being pierced trough the shoulder by a vicious looking dagger.

"Hitomi!" Allen was swiftly on his feet, and as he rose and charged forward he drew his sword. The assassin barely had the time to look at the Knight before he was run through by Allen's weapon, the sharp steel plunged through his heart. The assassin coughed once before he started to fall, and he was dead before he hit the carpeted floor.l

Allen let go of his sword and caught a stumbling Hitomi. She was definitely in shock, her eyes were wide and unfocused and her breathing irregular as she grasped at her injured and bleeding shoulder.

"Hitomi? Hitomi look at me... Hitomi!" He didn't want to draw the dagger out, afraid that he might cause more damage and bleeding.

"Allen-san... it hurts..." Hitomi held back a sob and squeezed her eyes shut. Allen scooped the girl into his arms and hurried out the door and down the hallway towards the, new, castle doctor.

"It'll be alright Hitomi, just hold on." Allen couldn't completely mask the panic in his voice as he spoke. Nor could he completely mask the anger lingering in his voice either, the anger at himself for not being able to protect her.

It was by pure instinct that he veered out of the way of the more or less sleepwalking cat girl walking down the corridor, rubbing sleepily at her eyes.

"Watch it where you're go... What happened?" Merle grumbled her voice full off irritation until she saw the injured Hitomi, whom were shaking uncontrollably in Allens arms. The cat girl cast a quick look down the corridor and felt a pang of fear well up inside her at the trail of blood that was left in their wake.

"Hitomi? When did she get here? What happened?" The cat girl looked very confused and worried but Allen continued on his way, there was no time to explain.

"Not now Merle! Go get Van and send some guards to Hitomi's room to clear out the man who did this!" Merle looked taken aback, for a second at the forcefulness of he blond Knight's words but nodded her head and started to run, cat style, towards Van's room.

"Van-sama! Van-sama!!" The cat girl called down the empty corridor as she ran, tears in her eyes. Merele had been gone for a few moths, helping out at an orphanage and had just come back that night. She continued to call out the King's name and once she passed Hitomi's room, she cast a quick glance inside and instantly regretted it. She ran even faster and the pitch of her voice got louder and more urgent as she called out Van's name again.

"VAN-SAMAAAAAA!!"

~~**~~

Van sat on Lana's bed with the princess head resting on his shoulder as she slept, he stared at nothing in particular as he let his thoughts wander once more to all the question that were still buzzing around in his mind. He was however brought out of his wonderings at the sound of a very familiar voice echoing through the castle.

"Merle?" It was only a whisper, but it was enough to wake the sleeping princess. She sat up a little more and looked at Van and was about to ask him if anything was wrong, when an ear deafening yell could be heard, probably through most of the castle.

"VAN-SAMAAAAAA!!"

Van jumped of the bed and ran to the door an opened it just in time to see Merle run past it. "Merle!" He said loudly, a bit surprised in seeing the cat girl.

Merle in turn cam to a skidding halt and turned around and just stared at Van for a second before she then threw herself at him, her arms going around his shoulder as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Van-sama! It's Hitomi! She's here! And... and..." Van took a hold of Merle's shoulder and held her at arms length away so he could look her in the face, the tone in the cat girl's voice and the fact that there were tears in her eyes was very unwavering.

"Merle, I know that Hitomi is here, she came here last night." He explained calmly but Merle just looked at Van with big teary eyes. Merle sniffed once before she started to ramble, her voice shaky and hurried making it a bit difficult to understand it all.

"Allen almost ran into me and he was carrying Hitomi and she had a sword trough her shoulder and was bleeding and Allen told me to get you and the guards because there's a dead man in Hitomi's room now and Allen took her to the doctor." The cat girl had to stop because her air supply was out when she was done blurting everything out, she took several deep breaths, and had to sniffle a couple of times, and whilst she did that Van could only stare at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Hitomi was hurt. It seemed so ludicrous, she was in the castle, there were guards everywhere it shouldn't have happened.

Lana walked up behind Van with a worried look on her face, she gently placed one of her hands on his shoulder and spoke to him with a soft voice, and concerned voice.

"Van-sama, you should hurry up and go to Hitomi. She's your friend, and someone might not be overly happy with being woken up at this hour." She was referring to the grumpy doctor whom was working at the castle at the moment. Van took a quick glance at Lana then moved Merle out of the way and began to run down the hall towards the wing of the castle where Hitomi should have been taken.

"Merle, keep an eye on Lana!" Van called over his shoulder to Merle, who was about to protest but Van was out of sight. The cat girl turned around to look at the princess with a sour look on her still distraught features.

"You don't have to Merle. I know you'd rather be with Van and Hitomi." Merle was surprised by the understanding in the princess' voice. Last time she had seen the princess she seemed so snobby, but now she actually seemed to care. The cat girl let her guard down a little and sniffed once more as she shook her head.

"If Van-sama wants me to stay here, I'll stay here." Lana gave Merle a sad smile before she turned and walked over to her bed to sit down.

"I wonder who would do such a thing..." Lana said a worried look on her face as she folded her hands neatly on her lap. She looked over at Merle who was still standing by the door looking down the hall biting nervously on a nail as she did so. "When did you get her Merle? I thought you were occupied with the orphans and such." The question was asked softly, and was more to get some sort of conversation going and ease the worried tension in the room, then the actual want to know.

~~**~~

Van was running like his life depended on it to get to the doctors sleeping quarters as soon as possible. And as he was running a million thoughts were popping up in his head. A lot of _'What if's'_ were bothering him to no end and he violently shook his head to get rid of them.

_*__I can't think like that...* _He noticed the blood trail on the floor and his heart sank.

"Hitomi..."

~~**~~

Hitomi was slipping in and out of consciousness and all the while, even though she was in serious pain, she felt safe. The few moments she were able to open her eyes and focus she could see Allen's worried face above her, and once or twice he was glancing down at her. She let her eyes fall shut again, listening to the soft, if shaky, murmurs from Allen, telling her that everything was going to be alright.

A few minutes later she dimly felt herself being released from warm and strong arms to be deposited on a bed, or something of the like, and then there was a sudden jolt of pain tearing trhought her. Her eyes shot open and she screamed. A scream which she couldn't have held back even if she tried and it echoed through the still and silent halls of the castle, waking most people who had still been asleep.

~~**~~

Van heard the scream and stopped dead in his tracks, his heartbeat quickening at the soul wrenching sound that bounced of the walls. Then, just a moment later, everything was quiet again, and it was such a pressing silence that if was deafening. The young king just stood in the errily silent hall for a long moment, and then he noticed it, the pendants. It was pulsing softly under the fabric of his shirt, but in an irregular pattern.

He reached inside his shirt and took the pendant out, holding it in his open palm and stared at it, but a moment later he let it fall to rest against his clothed chest and he hurried down the corridor once more, a feeling of increasing dread rising inside him.

~~**~~

Hitomi didn't wake until next evening, not that she knew that she had been asleep for such a long time. And it was hard to believe as well because she felt so unnaturally tired, and her body felt as heavy as iron. She attempted to move, but soon gave it up, it was too much of a hassle, and she was quite comfortable where she was. She hadn't even bothered to open her eyes, not until she felt a warm hand stroke a few strands of hair away from her face. The gentle caress compelled her to open her eyes, and her gaze came to lock with Allen's concerned azure orbs.

"How are you feeling Hitomi?" His voice was soft and filled with concern as he gently moved his hand to brush against her cheek in a soft and friendly gesture. Hitomi let out a soft sigh, and let her eyes fall shut again as she marvelled slightly at how gentle his touch could be

"Tired... and my shoulder hurts..." She answered. Her voice was slightly hors from her screaming the previous night, with a small frown she opened her eyes again to look up at Allen.

"Are you ok Allen? You didn't get hurt did you?" She asked, but her worried frown melted away as Allen smiled down at her.

"I'm fine... but you shouldn't do things like that. I don't want to see you hurt, my dear Hitomi." The worry seemed to drain away from his eyes as he spoke, and there was nothing Hitomi could do to stop the faint blush crept across her nose. In an attempt to hide it she drew the covers up over her mouth and nose to just let her eyes visible. Allen let a soft chuckle pass his lips at her actions then he leaned down, brushing his hand tenderly over her forehead and at the same time moved her bangs out of the way so that he could placed a soft kiss on her temple.

"I'll leave you to rest. Good night Hitomi." He murmured into her ear before he drew away and straightened up then turned to leave the room.

Hitomi could feel a hot blush burn across her face and was glad that she had covered her face, but even through her embarrassment, she mumble out a good night in return. Once she heard the door close behind the Knight she let out a soft sigh and pulled the covers away from her face. She lay there wondering why Allen hadn't asked about the whole ordeal yet. Another sigh spilled past her lips, but it was a tired sigh. With great effort she turned to lie on her uninjured side and felt something shift against her neck. She lifted the covers just enough to peer down and saw her old pendant around her neck.

It was pulsing gently, along with her own heartbeat it seemed. A confused frown crossed her features for a moments, she knew she had given it to Van, so why did she have it all of a sudden?

~~**~~

That's it for chapter six. I don't think I've edited this far before, so if you have read this far now, and not reviewed yet, why not take a pause and do it now? ^_~

Darkie Hime


	7. When will the pain end

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the Escaflowne Characters. I just write this for fun like so many other people.

Ok, nearing the end now, Finally it'll all have been re-written and updated as it should. I will mention my old Beta though, and thank her even now for the Beta reading she did for me back in the day. Thank you MegumiFuu. I still aprichiate what you did for me.

After this, only one more to go!

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~~~**~~~ 7. When will the pain end? ~~~**~~~

Hitomi let another sigh spill past her lips as she let the covers fall back to rest against her, she was too exhausted to think about why she had the pendant. There was probably a very easy explanation for it anyway. So with that thought in mind she drifted back into dreamland, unconsciously clutching the pendant close to her heart all through the night.

And with all the things that had happened, she was blissfully unaware of that the wedding, and most likely, her return back to earth, wad going to take place the next day.

~~**~~ Earlier ~~**~~

Van almost stumbled into the doctor's quarters, which was divided into private area and treating area and it wasn't long before his eyes came to rest on the still form of Hitomi laying on one of the beds. He straightened up and quickly scanned the room and took notice of the doctor standing a few feet away from the resting Hitomi, what caught him to pause in the action of asking a question to the doctor though was that the doctor was holding a scalpel towards Allen. But it wasn't that that had caused the young King to pause and stare, it was the fact that the doctor was sporting the beginning of a black eye and was fending off the weapon less Knight a foot or so away with the small surgical instrument. And the look on Allen's face was almost murderous.

When the doctor glanced around, almost looking as if he was in hunt of another weapon, he spotted his king and lowered the scalpel, and Allen seemed to notice him as well and stopped trying to advance on the doctor, he settled for keeping his eyes on the white clad man.

The doctor placed the scalpel down on a tray and turned and walked over to Van, then bowed when he was a couple of feet away. Once he had straightened up to his full height again he crossed his arms over his chest and glanced over towards the girl and began to speak, not even bothering to mask his annoyance that he was more then likely feeling towards the Knight.

"The girl is going to be fine, the dagger didn't hit any vital arteries..." The doctor let out a small huff of air and made sure that he was not looking at the king as he continued speaking.

"I admit thought, that I should have given her something for the pain so that she wouldn't have felt it when I removed the object from her shoulder..." The doctor glanced back at Allen, who was giving the other man a nasty look. The doctor actually looked a bit weary, and quickly turned to walk into his private quarters, there was nothing else he could do at the moment anyway.

Van was surprised to say the least, he couldn't remember ever seeing Allen loosing his temper so quickly, or held on to the anger for so long. And the fact that the Knight had hit a doctor, of all people, made Van feel like he had somehow ended up in some other world again.

The anger seemed to slowly leave Allen though, and with a tired sigh he walked over to the chair besides Hitomi's bed and sank down into it. A moment later Van walked over to stand besides the seated Knight and gave him a wary look.

"What happened?" Van asked, his voice cool and direct, and the tone made it clear that he didn't want to hear any excuses about the little display of unrestrained anger. He just wanted to know what had happened to the unconscious girl.

Allen didn't avert his gaze from the resting form on the bed; he just drew a tired sigh then gave a small shake of his head before he attempted to answer the king's question.

"I don't know... I took Hitomi to her room after she fell asleep in the garden; I just wanted to make sure she would be alright so I stayed for a while. I must have dosed off myself. The next thing I knew was that she was calling out to me then I was pushed over and then..." A frustrated sound escaped Allen and he ran his fingers through his hair in an irritated gesture then he leaned back in his seat before he continued, his voice suddenly drained and tired sounding.

"...well you see the result." He gestured a little with his hand towards Hitomis sleeping figure on the bed.

Van simply stood there, his arms crossed loosely over his chest as he listened, he however found that the explanation had been a little lacking but let it be. The young king cast a brief glance towards the knight and took in his appearance. Allen's clothes were covered in Hitomi's drying blood; he even had some on his face and in his long hair. Van shook his head a little then drew a breath before he started speaking in a calm and collected voice.

"Why don't you go and change your clothes and was up, I don't think your current appearance would be very comforting to Hitomi if she suddenly woke. I'll stay here while you're gone."

Allen looked like he was going to object, but the look quickly vanished once he looked down and actually became aware of the state of his clothing and whose blood it was that were staining them.

"I guess you're right Van... I won't be gone for long." Allen said as he stood from his seat and just looked at Van look enough to see the King nod at him, and then Allen left the room without another word.

There was no doubt about the fact that Allen was blaming himself for what had happened. But what might have happened if Allen hadn't been there? There was no way of knowing. Van sat himself down in the unoccupied chair and looked down at Hitomi's sleeping face. At least she didn't look like she was in pain. She looked like she was simply resting.

Van moved over to sit on the edge of the bed and gently moved a few strands of hair away from her face. He was somewhat amazed at how the soft light from the moon made her hair and lips seem to shine. He tenderly placed a hand on her cheek and moved his face closer to hers and ever so softly he kissed the sleeping Hitomi.

It was only meant to be a soft brush of the lips, so he was surprised when the sleeping girl responded to the kiss, her lips lovingly moved against his for a few seconds before Van got into the frame of mind to draw away. He looked down at her softly smiling face and felt her soft sigh against his lips, only a few inches away. Then she murmured something and Van strained his ears to hear what she said.

"...Allen...san..." Van stiffened, his eyes widening in shock. A pained expression came to rest over his features as the last bits of his hopes were crushed, with a simple murmur of a name that wasn't his. He knew, deep down, that he had already accepted the fact that he was going to marry Lana. But he still had had a little bit of hope that he somehow could have gotten out of it. So that maybe he and Hitomi could have...

He stroked Hitomi's cheek and then reached for the softly pulsing pendant around his neck and took it off before he gently placed it around Hitomi's neck. He traced his fingers down the side of her face once more before he moved of the bed and took a seat in the chair besides the bed again, waiting for Allen to return.

~~**~~

Hitomi was dreaming. It wasn't a bad dream it actually started of rather pleasant. It started with her sitting in an open field and a light breeze was blowing pleasantly through her hair, making her feel at ease.

Suddenly a figure came out from nowhere and sat down besides her, it didn't startle her though. She didn't know who it was, only that it was... someone she cared for and she smiled warmly towards him her eyes closed just taking in the sounds and motions around her. Then there was a hand on her cheek. She turned her head and before she knew it her lips were captured in a soft kiss... There was something new about the kiss however, and somehow it also felt a little wrong. The first thing that came to mind when the kiss ended was a name...

"Allen-san...?" But the figure had disappeared. She felt odd. Why had she thought of Allen? Was it because Allen had been the first person she had ever kissed? She couldn't figure it out.

Lying back on the soft grass, she mulled it over in her mind whiles she stared up at the clear blue sky.

~~**~~

Hitomi didn't wake until next evening, not that she knew that she had been asleep for such a long time. And it was hard to believe as well because she felt so unnaturally tired, and her body felt as heavy as iron. She attempted to move, but soon gave it up, it was too much of a hassle, and she was quite comfortable where she was. She hadn't even bothered to open her eyes, not until she felt a warm hand stroke a few strands of hair away from her face. The gentle caress compelled her to open her eyes, and her gaze came to lock with Allen's concerned azure orbs...

~~**~~ Back to present time ~~**~~

Allen walked through the empty corridors, heading towards his room. He was a bit irritated, the doctor had instructed him not to stay for too long if Hitomi woke up because she still needed plenty of rest. He had wanted to stay though, to make sure that nothing else would happen to the girl. But he had promised the infuriating doctor that he wouldn't keep the girl for resting, and he was sure that if ha hadn't left he... The knight shook his head almost violently to rid himself of that train of thought and continued on his way.

Another thing that was annoying him, not only the doctor, was the upcoming wedding. Allen let out a heavy sigh as he opened the door to his room and stepped inside. For some reason the wedding was going to take place the next day, why they were in such a hurry he didn't know, but there was something odd about it. There was no need to rush it...

But even if that were his thoughts, it wasn't as if he had any say in it, if he had he would make sure that the young king didn't marry that princess. He didn't like here... and it wasn't just that their personalities didn't mix, it was something else, there was something that was off about the princess that kept him on edge. But he had no proof that would collaborate with his, well feelings of suspicion, so there was nothing he could do.

The blond Knight walked over to the balcony and leaned against the doorframe for a few moments and gazed up at the star filled sky, a thoughtful look on his face, and listened to the night time noises coming from the city.

"I wonder if everything will go as planed tomorrow..." He mumbled to himself before he pushed off the doorframe with a shake of his head. "...weddings shouldn't be rushed..." He said with a sigh before he walked back into his room.

~~**~~

Hitomi was running, running towards what had captured every Fanelian citizen's attentions.

The wedding.

She had to... She needed to...

She didn't really know why she was so desperate to return it, the pendant which she was tightly clutching in her left hand and she ran towards the commotion

_*I have to give it back to him...It's his not mine. * _

She ran up the steps towards the wedding, even on the steps there were people cheering and laughing in joy at the happy occasion. No one seemed to bothered by her though, even if she was running towards the chapel, a few people gave her odd looks and some mumbled briefly as she passed but no one did anything to hinder her. And she soon became aware of why no one tried to stop her once she reached the top of the stairs. There two Astaurian Knights of Heaven stood, efficiently blocking her way. She didn't care though, she wouldn't let them stop her, she had to give the pendant back to Van.

She didn't know why she had it, but it wasn't hers to have, it was his... and bad things came to happen when it was in her possession.

"Van!" She called once she somehow managed to get past the knights and once again started running towards the couple standing at the altar. She heard someone shout her name from far away but she ignored it. She had to get to Van.

When she was just a few feet away from the soon to be married couple the pendant started glowing, and once again she could hear her name being called, but this time she recognised the voice since it was closer then before. She stopped running and came to a stop, she quickly looked around searching for the source of the voice that had called out to her.

"Allen?" She said a questioning look in her eyes once she spotted the knight. He was looking at her with a worried look on his face which soon turned into a look of shock as the pillar of light suddenly consumed her her.

A very urgent sense of panic rose in her as she felt the light pick her up and slowly pull her upwards, away from the land she loved. She twisted around and looked towards Van and Lana for a brief moment, and a gasp escaped her when her eyes came to rest on the girl who was supposed to be princess Lana.

In her place stood a woman with wild orange hair, deadly pale skin and twisted features. And the eyes that looked back at her couldn't be described as anything else then two pools of darkness. A twisted smile slowly spread over the woman's face as she looked at Hitomi, and even though Hitomi wanted to look away from those sickening black eyes she couldn't. An overwhelming sickening feeling suddenly overcame her, and for a moment she was sure she was going to throw up, but she forced it away and tried with all her might to look away from the horrible woman.

"Van! Don't you see what she is! Van! VAN!" She screamed as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut so that she wouldn't have to look into those eyes anymore. But the young King couldn't hear Hitomi, nor could any of the other people around, except for one, but the only thing he saw was the disappearing Hitomi, not the twisted woman who was sneering happily up at the disappearing girl.

Hitomi opened her eyes again and watched as the wedding proceeded, the figure who was supposed to be Lana had turned back to look at the priest, and at that moment, once the wedding vows were coming to a close, she just knew that something bad was going to happen.

She watched in horror as the two turned to face each other to seal the vows with a kiss, and before their lips could touch Hitomi closed her eyes, she didn't want to see. The next second though, a boom rang through the air, it almost sounded like a clash of thunder. Hitomi's eyes opened wide at the sound and stared down at the princess who didn't look like the evil woman anymore but a very distraught and sobbing princess Lana. The red haired girl was kneeling on the ground and was clinging desperately to Van's lifeless body. Her beautiful face streaked with tears and she was screaming for someone to get help.

She was almost forcefully pried away from the body of her husband by Allen as other guards hurried towards their fallen king. Lana threw herself into Allen's arms sobbing hysterically, it wasn't as if it would have mattered who it was at that moment. The girl was clinging to the blond Knight tears falling uncontrollably down her face.

Then the whole scene seemed to freeze and Lana looked up at Hitomi, and the beautiful face twisted into the horrible sneer she'd seen before, and the princess' eyes turned black. And as Hitomi was carried further and further away, Lana smirked evilly and pressed herself close to the Knight.

"He's next..." The princess hissed before a soul freezing laugh rang through the air.

~~**~~

"NO!!"

Hitomi sat up straight in her bead, one hand reaching out in front of her, her breathing was ragged and her heart was beating so hard it almost felt like it was going to jump out of her ribcage. She let her hand fall to the covers and stared with wide eyes at the wall opposite her. Had that been a dream... or a vision... she wasn't certain...

She brushed a few damp strands of hair out of her face before she looked around, she felt a bit disoriented and anxious. She placed her hands over her eyes as she closed them, trying to remember what had happened in the last few days, and tried her best to remember the details of her dream... or vision...

Then with a gasp it all came thundering down on her, the dream and the events of the last few days. She lurched forward and started to almost hyperventilate, her hands coming to rest against her chest instead of covering her eyes.

"Hitomi! Guess what I got for you! Hitomi? Hitomi what's wrong?" The question from the cat girl, who had just entered the room, was only half registered by Hitomi, a moment later thought she could feel someone on the bed besides her and a hand softly patting her on the back.

"Hitomi! Breathe normally, you going to pass out if you keep on doing that. Calm down and tell me what's wrong." Hitomi looked up at Merle's worried face.

"I have to stop it... when is the wedding Merle? It's in a few days, right?" Hitomi's voice was shaking with panic. Merle looked utterly confused for a moment before she realized that Hitomi probably hadn't heard about the change of plans.

"Actually... the wedding is already happening. They started it a few minutes ago. Why do you want to stop it?" Merle raised an eyebrow in a curious way and at the same time worried way. But a second later her features fell into confusion again when Hitomi stared at her and didn't breath for a few moments. The cat girl let out a startle mew when Hitomi bolted out of bed, grabbed her clothes and threw them on in a hurry, then just left Merle on the rumpled in mild shock.

"I have to stop it... Van is... I just have to stop it..." Hitomi mumbled to herself as she stopped for a moment to put her sneakers on then bolted out of the room. "Nya?" The cat girl said in a confused manner from her seated position on the bed, a rather sunned look on her young features.

~~**~~

Hitomi was running. Her shoulder was pounding with pain as she ran, but she tried to ignore it. She had to get to stop the wedding before it was too late.

_*Van you don't deserve this. Why do things like this happen when I come here? It's like I'm the bringer of death...*_ She quickly brushed some tears away from her eyes and face as she ran. She didn't know when she had started crying, but it didn't matter, what mattered was to make sure that Van was safe. She had to make sure that Van didn't marry that impostor of a woman.

She had to stop it,m even if it that she would have to go back to earth, it was probably for the better anyway. She had to save her friend... she needed to save Van.

People stared at her as she sprinted through the castle, but other then that they didn't do anything. They had other things to worry about then an odd little girl running around.

She didn't slow down for a second, not even when she started to run up the steps that lead to the place where it all was going to happen. She quickly formed a plan in her head, it wasn't the greatest of plans but it would have to do. She quickly spotted Allen's through the crowd; it was a good thing that he stood out from the crow, it saved time. She took a sharp breath and hurried even faster, she was running so fast that her lungs hurt, but she ignored. The plan she had formed wasn't something she wanted to do. But it had to stop.

Allen felt something brush against him and a second later he became aware of that he was missing something as well, he turned his head just the slightest and instantly saw Hitomi running trough the crowd, and he almost panicked when he saw what she had taken... How she had managed to sneak up and take it from him he would never know...

"Hitomi! Stop! What are you doing?" Allen called out as he sprinted after the still injured girl. He was amazed at how fast she could run in that state. People stared at them and quickly got out of the way as Hitomi charged through the crowd, a determined look in her eyes, then she veered to the side and ran out onto the makeshift aisle, and Allen was close behind her. The only one who didn't seem to notice the commotion was Van.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Hitomi screamed, tears in her eyes, as she rand up to the couple, and before anyone knew what exactly was going on a terrified scream rang out over the crowd, before the sickening sound of sharpened steel cutting through flesh. Hitomi stood there, panting, Allen's sword in her hands rammed through Lana's torso

The princess choked and stumbled backwards, blood seeping through the wound and staining the white dress red. Then she fell to her to the ground and slid of the sword, which Hitomi still had firmly grasped in her hands, even if she had lowered it slightly when the princess slid of it. People were shouting and rushing to the dying princess' side.

Van however just stared like he just had come out of some sort of trance.

"Lana? Hitomi what did you do!?" There was a hint of desperation in Van's voice as he knelt down besides his dying fiancé.

"She's not for real... she isn't the one she says she is..." Hitomi panted, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears and her hands were trembling.

People were yelling "murderer" at Hitomi, and she looked away from Van and Lana for a moment a felt terribly afraid at the looks on the people's faces. Allen took a firm grip of Hitomi's shoulders and started to lead her away, a grave look on his usually gentle features. He was just about to take the sword from her when he heard screaming and then the sound of snapping necks behind them. Both he and Hitomi spun around and saw that one of Lana's chambermaids was lying lifeless on the ground besides a very alive looking Lana. Van quickly moved out of the way, which was a good thing, because Lana had started lashing out at everyone within range, a twisted sneer spreading over her face. Then she looked straight at Hitomi, the look on her face so hateful that it made Hitomi take a step back.

"You couldn't just stay out of thing now could you, you little wench! I'll show you what happens to people who get in my way!" Tendrils of darkness wound around the princess, wound around her until she was cocooned. Then as suddenly as they had wound around the girl they unwound themselves from around her to reveal a pale figure with messy straw-like orange hair and eyes that looked like they could swallow you whole into their black depths.

When the princess spoke again her voice was screechy and had a pitch to it that sounded like shards of broken glass rubbed up against one another.

"I won't let you live now! Prepare to die you piece of human garbage!" In amazing speed the woman moved forward, reaching towards Hitomi with fingers like razor sharp claws. Hitomi couldn't move she was frozen in place; the black eyes locked with hers hindered her from moving. She was clutching the pendant close to her chest and she wanted to scream but she couldn't even do that.

What happened next was just a blur, she felt the sword she'd been clutching in her other hand get torn from her grasp, and the next thing she saw was Allen's back. She saw him swing the sword in a graceful but deadly arch and it was soon followed by the heavy thud of something lifeless hitting the ground. She saw Allen lower his arm and she caught a glimpse of his sword, it was covered in dark read, almost black, blood.

Hitomi brushed her fingers across her face, and when she moved her hand so that she could see it she saw a smear of black blood on her fingertips. When Allen turned to face her she instantly saw that he was covered in the things blood, but he didn't seem to notice it, or he simply ignored it, which was most likely the case.

The crowd around them was in more of a panic then before and many of the guards had rushed to Van's side to make sure that their King was safe, and to shield him if there were still danger lurking about.

"Hitomi... are you alright?" Allen asked, Hitomi shook her head at his question and wrapped her arms around herself, she was trembling uncontrollably. She could feel more tears threatening to spill, she had almost been killed, Van would have been killed... She bowed her head and let her tears fall freely; there was no point in trying to hold them back.

The blond Knight let go of his sword and gently wrapped his arms around the shocked girl and tried his best to calm her down. Hitomi let her arms come to wrap around him in return and she held on to him as if her life depended on it and cried silently into his chest. It felt like if she let go she would be taken away, she would be taken away from the one she loved, away from her friends. She didn't want that. She wanted to stay forever.

Then there was that loud boom, the one that sounded like a clash of thunder, Hitomi had forgotten about it. A sense of panic rose in her but was swiftly quenched when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She felt Allen stagger and his grip loosen a little, and then they both crumbled to the ground still holding each other.

"...I forgot..." Hitomi whispered in disbelief before a choked chough broke past her lips. Then that horrible voice spoke to her in her mind and she glanced to the side, Allen doing the same, and saw the ghostly image of the horrible creature that had been killed just moments earlier. She was smirking down at them as she spoke in her screechy voice of her.

'I told you I wouldn't let you live, you little wench. And your precious knight will join you in death! And it's all your fault!' The creature's voice rang trough their heads and was followed by a hideous laugh, but no one but them seemed to be able to hear it.

Hitomi turned her face to look at Allen's face, it was clear that he was in pain, and she started to cry again.

"Allen... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..." She started to say, her voice choked and raspy, she wanted to apologise, and she wanted to make it all right again... but she couldn't.

Allen just shook his head though and hugged her closely but with draining strength.

"I know..." He whispered close to her ear, and she ducked her head so that it rested against his shoulder and cried. The pain was horrible, she could feel blood stain her front, and it hurt to breath.

The pendant Hitomi had been holding slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground with the smallest of clatter which went unnoticed in the panicked commotion which was taking place around them.

The softly pulsing light of the pendant started to slow and grow weaker...

And then it stopped...

~~**~~

Van, Merle and Celena were standing in front of two tombstones. Merle and Celena were crying softly, the cat girl was holding on to Van's arm tightly and was rubbing her face against his arm as she cried. Van just looked numb and drained.

The sun was setting, leaving the Astuarian fields to shimmer orange like they were on fire.

"Why did it have to end like this Van-sama? Why did they have to go away?" Merle asked in a small and raspy voice, her throat was sore from all the crying and screaming she had done. But she still asked the question, the same questions she had asked before. She looked up at Van, her big cat like eyes full of unshed tears.

Van just shook his head and moved his arm out of her grasp to hug the cat girl.

"I don't know Merle... I don't know..." It was the same answer he had given before, and it would not change, because he would never be able to figure out the reason why it all had happened or why it ended like it did.

"It's just so... frustrating that their bodies were taken away by that light... we couldn't even give them a proper funeral..." Celena was having a hard time speaking, her voice choked with sorrow, making it near impossible to speak.

Van merely nodded in agreement though before he looked up at the Mystic Moon.

_*__...maybe they didn't die...* _

Van let go of Merle and walked over to the grave that belonged to Hitomi Kanzaki and placed the pendant at the base of the stone, brushing his fingers gently over the carved name.

"I'll miss you..." He whispered before he stood up and a few minutes later the three of them left the cemetery together, each one of them with sorrow in their hearts that would never go away completely.

~~**~~

Alright! That's chapter 7 over and done with! One more to go people. I hope ya'll still like this story, if I'm ever able to upload it to the site that is... FFnet is seriously screwing with me!

Oh! And please review if you haven't already? I really like to hear your opinions on this sory.

Darkie Hime


	8. The ending of the story

DISCLAIMER: ...you should know the drill by now... seriously...

Anyway! Without any further ado... here is the final chapter. It's taken me a couple of days to fix this all up, and I'm quiet happy with the result. If there's still some errors here and there I do apologise for them, but I'll stick to my excuse that English is my second language so... Yeah.

Fore those who haven't read this story before, enjoy the last chapter. This is it; there will be no more additions to this story now.

Thank you all whom read this far, and with no further ado, here is the final chapter of Breaking Hearts.

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~~~**~~~ 8. The ending of the story ~~~**~~~

Hitomi woke up in a rather uncomfortable bed and noticed right away that she was more or less hurting everywhere. She let out a groan and tried to sit up after brushing her bangs out of her face.

"Hitomi! You're awake! No don't sit up, stay down. You were shot; it was a good thing that I found you just a bit away from my house! If I hadn't gone out to look for you, you and that other person would have defiantly died. You gave me such a scare!" Hitomi slumped back against the bed before she turned to look towards the voice, and found herself looking at Yukari's relieved face. Her friend had tears in her eyes but was at the same time smiling as she stood besides Hitomi's bed. The dark haired girl brushed the tears away from here eye then let out an almost hysterical sounding laugh before she sat down on a nearby chair.

"Yukari? Slow down please... I don't get what you're saying..." Hitomi mumbled and rubbed at her eyes, her brain felt oddly foggy and it refused to work with her.

"You're in the hospital. You were shot in the chest just a few yards away from my house. I don't understand why I couldn't hear the shot, but I'm so glad that I went outside to se where you'd gone. If I hadn't you and that guy would surely have died."

Hitomi's head was staring to clear up a little and suddenly she remembered. She struggled to sit up even with Yukari protesting. Then, as if on queue, a doctor opened the door and walked calmly inside and smiled pleasantly at Hitomi who froze in her struggles to sit up.

"So you're awake now Miss Kanzaki? You seem awfully energetic for someone who's been shot, but that's all good. I would advice you to take it easy though, you don't want to rip your stitches." The doctor walked over to stand at the foot of Hitomi's bed as picked up her chart and looked through it. Then he turned his head to look at Hitomi again and had a warm smile on his face.

"You had us worried though, it was a nasty wound. As for your male friend, his injuries were a bit graver then yours." He walked to the right side of the bed and gently grasped her wrist to check her pulse as he spoke, but continued to speak.

"We couldn't find any I.D. on him. Do you know his name?" He asked and let go of her wrist and jotted something down on her chart before walking back to the foot of the bed.

Hitomi was a bit confused at the question. Who was he talking about, she hadn't been with anyone when she was heading over to Yukari's place... Then it clicked into place.

"Allen?" She said in a stunned tone, her eyes going wide in disbelief.

"Is that his name? You see he's still unconscious, so we haven't been able to get any information about him. I know this must be a lot for you to deal with right now Miss Kanzaki, but if you know anything more about him it would help us a lot..." Hitomi just shook her head and felt tears roll down her cheeks, even though there was a hint of a smile on her lips as she cried.

"I can't believe this..." She whispered before she placed her hands over her face and shook her head again. She couldn't believe what was happening...

~~**~~

A few days later Hitomi was well enough to go home. But even so she outright refused to Allen's side. This utterly confused her friends and parents, but they didn't argue with her about it after she had explained that it was the blond man who had saved her from certain death, so they let her stay.

It was a quiet afternoon and Hitomi had fallen asleep on her folded arms which were resting, more or less, comfortably on Allen's hospital bed. A soft sigh escaped her as she started to wake up from the feeling of someone stroking her hair. She blinked sleepily a few times then looked up and saw Allen smile down at her.

She could feel a relieved smile spread over her lips and tears of joy prickle in her eyes, she held them back though, she had done to much crying already...

"Allen..." She said softy as she straightened up, and felt Allen brush a stray tear away from her cheek.

"Hello my dear Hitomi." Allen said softly and chuckled a little when Hitomi grasped his hand and pressed it close to her cheek, enjoying the warmth of his hand against her skin.

"I'm so glad that you're ok. I was so worried... I thought that I had killed you..." Allen just smiled a little and brushed away another tear that escaped her eye.

"It wasn't your fault... even though I can't remember everything I know that much." He said and then a thoughtful look came to his features as he looked at her. "I can only remember pain... blood and black eyes..." Allen leaned his head back onto the pillows and stared up at the sealing as he spoke, and let his hand drop away from her face but instead took a gentle hold of her hand.

Hitomi furrowed her brows and looked at the knight. "It's ok if you don't remember that day. It was nothing to remember anyway." Hitomi said her voice shaking slightly as she spoke.

Allen shook his head, his features turning thoughtful again and squeezed her hand a little tighter. "That's not it... what I meant is that's all I can remember. That and some faces and names." He paused for a moment then turned to look at her again. "But I do remember you. Nothing in the world could make me forget about you."

Hitomi smiled a little but she somehow felt tremendously sad at the same time at the knowledge that he had forgotten about his world. She had to make sure, she had to ask.

"You mean that you can't remember Gaia, your home? Or what took place there?" She asked, a sad look coming over her features. Allen simply shook his head and struggled to sit up in the hospital bed. It was a bit difficult but with Hitomi's help he was soon in a sitting position and looked over at Hitomi and smiled.

"Somehow... it doesn't seem to matter. All I know is that wherever you are is the place that will be my home... if that's alright with you that is?" He said with a soft smile on his lips.

Hitomi stared at him in amazement. At that moment she knew that she would never leave him and that he would never leave her. She knew whom she had missed the most from Gaia, even if she hadn't known it before.

"Is it ok with you, Hitomi?" Allen asked an almost worried look in his eyes as he asked the question again.

Hitomi smiled and let out a shuddering laugh and gave a small nod, not really trusting her voice at that moment. The blond man gently placed his hand on her left cheek and brushed his thumb over her skin before he leaned closer until their lips nearly touched.

"So I won't need a bird cage this time?" He asked with a teasing smile which Hitomi returned before she breathed out a soft 'no'. With a smile on his lips he closed the distance between them and with that ended the conversation with a tender kiss.

~~**~~

"I'm still amazed at how much they look like each other. They could be twins," Yukari said in astonishment and stared at Amano and Allen, who were over at an ice cream stand getting the girls what they wanted.

"You know... they say that you have a look-alike out there in the world somewhere..." Hitomi said musingly as she idly stirred her iced tea with a straw.

Yukari nodded thoughtfully before taking a sip of her own ice tea and mulled the statement over in her head. Hitomi let her eyes follow Allen's movements and bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, she was somewhat amazed at how good the former Knight looked in a pair of ordinary blue jeans and white t-shirt.

"But don't you go and get any funny ideas now. Allen is my boyfriend." Hitomi said in a mock threatening voice which was ruined by the teasing smile on her lips as she turned to look at her friend. Yukari just laughed good-heartedly at her and waved her free hand in a dismissing manner.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to steel him from you. But then again, I don't think I could even if I wanted to. He's like the perfect guy for you. I can't believe you never told me about him."

"Oh well... you wouldn't have believed me anyway, you were so head over heels with Amano at the time so you probably wouldn't have heard me even if I told you about it." Hitomi said teasingly and Yukari just laughed at her again before the both of them turned towards the boys whom were making their way back towards them.

"A pity that he lost his memory though... I can't image how I would feel if I forgot everything. And I mean everything! Like how a phone works, and cars and other stuff like that. It must be so frustrating..."

Hitomi rolled her eyes at Yukari but ended up smiling in the end, and turned to look at Allen as he chatted with Amano.

_*Well it isn't so weird that he doesn't know ab__out that stuff... he never knew such things existed before so.... But there's no need to tell her that.*_ She thought and let out a soft giggle.

Amano and Allen sat down at the table and gave the girls their ice creams.

"So how are our beautiful girls holding up? Not badmouthing us behind our backs are you?"

Amano said with a wide smile on his face and Yukari hit her boyfriend lightly on the arm.

"How dare you accuse us of such a thing? We are merely discussing the meaning of life as it is." Yukari said in a very serious tone. Hitomi laughed softly at Yukari who tried her best to keep up her serious look.

"Oh? And what is the meaning of life then?" Amano asked with a wide smile on his lips as he leaned closed to Yukari who was amazingly enough still looking more or less serious, but a small smile spread over her lips before she said, "That, is a secret between us girls!", and smiled triumphantly at Amano. Hitomi started to laugh at the look on Amano's face, and then moved so that she could lean against Allen and glanced up at the blond man and took moot of his amused smile.

"So you mean that only girls know what the meaning of life is?" Amano asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Yukari. Yukari nodded sagely and crossed her arms over her chest then started to laugh, no longer being able to even try to seem serious, and Hitomi found herself giggling at the scene.

She felt Allen move and looked down at the arms that wrapped around her midsection to pull her closer into a soft hug. The giggling girl turned her face so that she could look at him and rested her head comfortably on his shoulder with a smile on her lips.

"You know what my meaning of life is Hitomi?" Allen asked in an amused tone. Hitomi pursed her smiling lips in though and was quiet for a few moments before she answered the question.

"Humm... mint ice cram?" Allen laughed a then shook his head a little and looked at her with that amused smile on still on his lips.

"Not exactly, but it does come rather high on the list..." Hitomi let out a small laugh then glanced over at Yukari and Amano who were still discussing whether girls knew the meaning of life or not.

"So what is it?" She asked and turned to look at him again. She was curious about what it might be.

Allen smiled softly at her before he nuzzled his face close to her ear, making her shiver a little before he whispered. "You are..."

~~**~~

And that's The End~

I hope ya'll liked it. So tell me what you think, did you love it? Maybe you hated it? I know V/H fans won't aprichiate this story, but I can't please everyone. And besides I really wanted to make this story into a Allen/Hitomi fic. There are so few of them so I needed to contribute.

-----------------------------

Author's note:

Well then, here we are. I have finally edited it all. It happened, 6 years after I started this I have finally gotten around to fix this thing. I feel good about it. It's a bit mushy from the stuff that I usually write nowadays, but it's interesting to see how I used to write.

I hope ya'll enjoyed it.

Thank all of you who had read this far, even if you don't review, at least you read it to the end. I will try to finish 'What If' at some point. I promise. But it might take a while longer still, since I don't have the original file at the moment. But I still think about it every now and again.

But for now I say good bye~

Darkie Hime


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